1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to production of toys and especially to design of a tumbler toy.
2. Background of the Related Art
A “Tumbler” toy is known (RU No. 1547839, 1988), comprising a body formed by top and large low spherical reservoirs which are connected to each other, a weight located in the lower spherical reservoir, a hammer suspended by a swinging joint in the body capable of kinematic interaction with tuning forks mounted in the lower reservoir of the body, while the hammer is suspended by means of flexible thread, whose swing hanger is in the form of a ball hinge, and the ball of the hinge is capable of magnetic interaction with a magnetic plate fixed above the hinge.
One problematic feature of the toy is that both reservoirs are rigidly connected to each other, which makes the body un-detachable. When the mechanism, located in the body, is broken, for example, when the thread of the hammer, the hinge or tuning-fork of the mechanism is broken, the toy is beyond repair, as it is impossible to work inside the body. It is natural that the body is made un-detachable to prevent a child from casual access to the mechanism, which could injure the child. This was due to the fact that it was not possible to reliably connect two thin-walled reservoirs because of an absence of strong polymeric materials for producing a strong thin-walled cover of the body and techniques for production of a thin-walled construction by blowing or molding.
Another “Tumbler” toy comprising a body formed by top and large low spherical reservoirs which are connected to each other, a weight located in the lower spherical reservoir, a hammer swinging in the body capable of contact interaction during an angular deviation of the body with the tuning forks mounted in the lower reservoir of the body, is known (see GB Patent No. 1095943, 1967).
The problematic features of the toy regarding design of its body and access to the musical mechanism are the same as described for RU No. 1547839. Another problem is a small range of a musical range due to the hanging hammer. As the hammer has a hanger with fixed height, when the position of the body is changed, the hammer always hits the same spots in the tuning forks. Tuning forks are executed in the form of rods, whose frequency and volume depends on the location of the application of the hammer from top to bottom.
It is impractical to use such toys for playing in water, as any connection in the specified devices ultimately is broken and water leaks into the toy's inner space, which leads to a broken musical mechanism. Playing on water, for example, in a bathroom, when a child is washed, is of a great importance for the process of bathing of a child. Experience has shown that not all children behave equally patiently toward bathing, and many of them behave badly. To distract attention of a child from the process of washing, parents often use toys intended for use on water. A tumbler toy is a type of toys that always draws strong attention from children. In this connection, it is reasonable to add to the toy the property of a tumbler toy, providing possibility to play with it not only on a firm surface, but also on water.
For example, the toy can be designed in the form of a rattle-tumbler toy, comprising a ball-shaped thin-walled body of two parts, one of which is in the form of a transparent reservoir, and another is in the form of a non-transparent cover leak-proof connected to the first part of the body, a membrane on which the playing element is mounted and which is connected to the body cover. Thus, the transparent reservoir is made with a neck whose external surface has at least one collar for connection to the mating parts on the internal surface of the cover when fastening the non-transparent cover on the transparent reservoir. When the body is assembled, the playing element is mounted in the transparent reservoir (JP 2006087560, 2006).
However, a child can use it only in dry conditions, as ingress of moisture leads to a broken musical mechanism or leaks into the body. Since at an early age, a child cannot always correctly assess external conditions, then it is reasonable for the toy to possess leak-proof qualities and shape, enabling its contents to be always visible.